


spirit petals

by JkWriter



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Unrequited Love, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 22:57:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18398069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JkWriter/pseuds/JkWriter
Summary: klaus loved ben, but ben didn't love him back (and was dead)





	spirit petals

The number of mornings he spent leaning over the toilet coughing his guts out was ridiculous. If this was going to be his new normal than he might as well sleep in the bathroom. Seriously, Klaus was tired of this. 

“You should see a doctor,” Ben said. He would have been rubbing Klaus’ back if he was alive. Klaus felt bad, but in these moments he was glad Ben was dead. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle the contact, not if Ben’s presence did this to him. 

“Doctor’s are for pussies.” Klaus flushed the toilet and watched the bloody flowers disappear. Good, he didn’t want to see them anymore. 

“I care about you, Klaus.” Fuck, never mind. Flowers are back. “This isn’t healthy. It’s killing you.” 

“Not fast enough.” Klaus groaned. His head hurt. His throat hurt. Everything hurt. Why was he so unlucky? 

“Don’t say that. There’s already one dead Hargreeves, there doesn’t have to be two.” 

“Don’t let dad hear you say that he still thinks Five is dead.” Klaus pushed himself up. Ben reached out to steady him but his hand went straight through Klaus’ shoulder. Both of them frowned at the lack of contact, neither used to the new dynamic yet. 

“Does he still ask you to summon him?” 

“Only about every day. Apparently, I’m “not living up to my full potential” if I can’t find him. Has dad ever considered that Five just ran off because he hates him? Nope! Because Reginald Hargreeves can do no wrong so the missing one must be dead.” 

“Maybe you should leave,” Ben said quietly. 

“And go where?” 

“Diego and Vanya have a place, maybe you could sleep on their couch?” There were many things wrong with the suggestion, the first being that Diego and Vanya had a shared apartment. It wasn’t a lie, it was just weird. The two suddenly started acting like best friends and left the second they turned eighteen to start a band. Klaus didn’t understand, Allison didn’t understand, the creepy ghost living under the stairs didn't understand. The second being that they wouldn’t want Klaus around them. They were escaping from the Umbrella Academy, Klaus was very much still an active member if anything for the paycheck his dad gave him once a month. It was enough to cover whatever he needed to get by outside the home, so he spent it all in the alley outside the skating rink, something Ben was always complaining about. 

“Yeah, I’ll pass. Whatever weird band shit they have going on, I don’t want to be a part of it,” Klaus said. He left the bathroom and walked down the hall towards Ben’s room. He started sleeping there after Ben died which didn’t help with the flowers but it made Klaus feel better.

“They won’t mind.” 

“I doubt that.” He shut the door. Luther and Allison wouldn’t bother looking for him but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

“They care about you, Klaus.” 

“If they cared they wouldn’t have left me behind,” He snapped. Ben looked sad which absolutely wasn’t fair because he was a ghost. Klaus’ throat itched. He swallowed, hoping to keep the petals at bay. 

“Please, Klaus. Call Diego, get help,” Ben pleaded. Klaus wanted to tell him that he wasn’t helping but that would mean owning up to the flowers in his system and he really didn’t want to do that. If he didn’t acknowledge it then it wouldn’t be a problem. 

“Okay,” he said. “Okay, I’ll call Diego. But when he laughs and hangs up I get to say I told you so.” Klaus picked up his phone, still on the bedside table from where he dropped it in his rush earlier this morning.

“Fine.” 

Diego didn’t laugh. Instead, he’s there, less than an hour later, helping Klaus put together a bag. 

“You don’t have to help.” 

“Sooner you’re packed the sooner we can leave. I don’t like being home and I know you hate it here, so really this is the best solution.” 

“Diego’s a good brother,” Ben said from his space in the air above the bed. Ben’s been floating lately. Klaus thinks he’s having a bit too much fun with the whole “being dead” thing, but at least he’s smiling. 

Oh god, Ben’s smiling. 

Klaus dropped the sweatshirt he was folding and runs to the bathroom. The flowers burn coming up, as though they come from the vine itself, thorns tearing up his throat. Maybe that’s how it is. Hanahaki was something they learned for the sake of knowing and then moved on from. They never went into the details of what happens to those it affects and Klaus never bothered looking it up. 

“Fuck, dude. Are you okay?” Klaus looked up. Diego stood in the doorway and behind him was Ben. 

“I’m great,” he said, except it came out more like a croak. There were a million frog jokes he could be making except it hurt to speak. 

“Shit, you’re bleeding.” Diego knelt next to him. Such a good brother. “Are you sick?” 

“Kinda.” 

Diego’s eyes widened. He understood which was great because Klaus didn’t want to explain it but on the other hand sucked because now he was going to be asking questions. 

“Okay. You stay here. I’m going to finish packing and then we’ll go.” 

“Such a good brother, you know that? You’re going to go pack my bags while I’m puking my guts out. This is the kind of treatment I deserve.” Klaus called out after Diego. He couldn’t hear his brother’s response but imagined it was along the lines of “shut up, Klaus”. 

“I told you he cared about you.” 

“Yeah yeah, you were right. Go ahead and say I told you so.” 

“I don’t want to. This isn’t something to joke about.” 

Klaus felt Ben kneeling behind him. He always felt Ben which was weird, right? He wasn’t supposed to feel the spirits. They were dead. They were cold. But Ben was warm. Ben reminded Klaus of the time when they were ten and they all snuck out to have a bonfire in the backyard. That was happiness. Ben was happiness. Ben was also killing him, but that was fine. 

“Ben,” Klaus wheezed. “Ben, I’m dying. Tell Diego I love him. Tell Vanya she can have my drugs. Tell Luther he’s lame.” 

“You’re not going to die.” 

“You say unconfidently.” 

“You’re not going to die,” Ben repeated. Klaus spit up more flowers. How come they looked so beautiful even as a bloody-saliva mess? “Diego and Vanya will know how to help you.” 

“There’s no helping this disaster.” Klaus flushed the toilet and stood up. He felt weak, really weak. It had never been this bad. Why was Ben being so nice today? It wasn’t fair. Why, out of everyone on the planet, did it have to be Ben? 

“Who are you talking to?” Diego reappeared in the doorway. He looked at Klaus, shaking on his feet, he stepped over to help guide him back to the bedroom. 

“No one,” Klaus said. Diego wouldn’t believe him. Klaus could see the dead but no one would believe he could see Ben, after all, why could he if he couldn’t see Five? Five not being dead wasn’t a viable answer to anyone. 

“Rude.” 

Klaus looked at Ben. His arms were crossed and he was honest to God pouting. Klaus smiled. “Hush dear, mommy and daddy are talking.” 

“Jesus Christ,” Diego muttered under his breath. Klaus took pity on him (it wasn’t because talking hurt) and didn’t say anything else until they were in his room. “I didn’t know what to pack,” Diego dropped Klaus off at the bed. “So I just grabbed a bunch of things. Let me know if there’s anything I missed.” 

Klaus looked at the bag lying open on his bed. Diego had done a good job packing after Klaus was out of commission. There were just a few things he missed. “There’s some pictures in my desk, can you grab those?” Diego stared at him. “I’m a sentimental little hoe. Sue me.” 

Ben laughed and Diego rolled his eyes. “Which drawer?” Diego asked. Klaus pointed to the right. Klaus watched Diego’s face as he opened the drawer and started pulling out the pictures Klaus had collected over the years. It was a lot. For their tenth birthday, they all got a single gift, anything they wanted. Klaus asked for a camera and since then he was constantly taking photos. He had hundreds of pictures from snaps of their free time to missions he was able to sneak his camera on. 

“Christ, Klaus, how many pictures are there?” Ben stood over Diego’s shoulder watching as he flipped through the photos.

Ah, yes. This was Ben’s first time seeing the pictures. When his brother first appeared he stopped pulling the photos out to stare longingly at the family. Also because Klaus generally stared at the photos of Ben while dying inside. 

“I thought you lost the camera?” Diego said. He put the photos in the bag, careful to make sure they wouldn’t be crushed. 

“Nah, just got more sneaky with it.” 

“I can see.” Diego grabbed more of the photos. “There’s a lot of pictures of Ben.” 

Fuck. Okay, Klaus could swing this. He just had to be casual. He could be casual. 

“Well, Ben’s my favorite brother. No offense, my dude.” 

“S’fine. Everyone knew the two of you were close. Like Luther and Allison or me and Vanya.” 

“Yup. Two bros Ben and I are. Were. We were bros. But not anymore. ‘Cause he’s dead.” Real smooth, Klaus. Now he has two brothers staring at him, one with pity and the other confusion. 

“Klaus, I want you to be honest with me.” Klaus hated with Diego started a sentence off like that. It meant he couldn’t lie and ninety percent of what he said was lies. “Do you see Ben?” Not what he had been expecting. He stared at Ben, wanting his brother to tell him what to say. Ben was smart, he’d know how to get out of this conversation. 

“It’s up to you. You don’t have to tell him I’m here.” Dammit, Ben. That’s not the answer Klaus wanted. 

“Klaus?” Diego asked again. 

“Uh, yeah? I mean, yes, I do.” 

“Oh, okay. Hey, Ben.” Diego looked in the general location of where Klaus was staring. He wasn’t looking quite at Ben but it was close enough. 

“Tell him I said hi.” 

“Ben says hi.” 

“Right, this is weird.” Diego finished putting the pictures in Klaus’ bag. “Let’s go.” Diego picked up the bag. Klaus tried to take it from him but Diego held it out of reach. “You’re sick. You just walk.” 

“I can carry my own bag.” 

“You can barely carry yourself. You’re lucky I’m not taking you to the hospital. I don’t know much about hanahaki, but it’s not supposed to be this bad.” 

That sounds about right. Of course, Klaus would get the worst case of the disease because the object of his desires had passed. Usually, when one’s unrequited love died, the hanahaki faded (except in the rare cases when it overtook them and they died surrounded by bloody flower petals). Klaus didn’t have either of those luxuries. It was like Ben had never died. He was doomed to have it grow and grow until there was no separating him from the flowers in his throat. 

“What would they be able to do?” 

“I don’t know, but I can’t just sit back and watch it kill you.” Diego led Klaus from the house. They didn’t run into anyone. Allison and Luther were out on a mission, one Klaus hadn’t been invited on. That was fine with Klaus. He didn’t want 

“I’m fine, Diego. It’ll pass, I’m sure.” 

“How long have you had it?” 

That was a good question. Klaus didn’t know. For him, the hanahaki was something that was always there under the surface. 

“A few years I guess.” 

“Fuck. Okay,” Diego set Klaus’ bag down in the back of the car. Klaus got in the passenger seat and waited. “We’re going to ask Vanya what to do. She’ll know.” 

“I’m not going to the hospital. There’s too many.” 

“Klaus, let them help you,” Ben said from his spot in the back. 

“Fuck off, Ben. No hospitals.” 

“Fucking hell, you are too stubborn.” Diego started the car. Klaus watched his home disappear in the mirror. Good riddance, he thought. “Who is it for? You’ve got to know if it’s been this long.” 

This is it. The conversation Klaus had been dreading. He didn’t want to own up to it, not with Ben in the back of the car. He couldn’t ask Ben to leave either because then he’d know. 

“I don’t know,” Klaus lied. Diego didn’t believe it, Ben didn’t believe, but neither of them pressed for answers. He appreciated that. 

“We’ll figure something out,” Diego said. And Klaus let himself believe it.

**Author's Note:**

> why are there no hanahaki fics in this fandom 
> 
> i have a [discord](https://discord.gg/Pwah8sR) where we make angsty headcanons come join us


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